LandMar misses property tax payment on The Shipyards project

The developer of The Shipyards in downtown Jacksonville technically defaulted on its agreement with City Hall because it is late paying 2008 property taxes, according to the city.

 

 

 

The taxes became delinquent April 1 and the bill is $485,000, according to Duval County Property Appraiser's Office records. Other expenses facing LandMar Group are an upcoming $3.15 million debt payment to the city, and a $993,000 construction lien placed on the property by a marine contractor.

 

Jacksonville Economic Development Commission officials are meeting weekly with Jacksonville-based LandMar to see if there's a way to keep the jinxed project on track.

 

At this juncture, I don't have any reason to believe they're not going to work the issue out, JEDC Executive Director Ron Barton said Monday. But we're going to have to see.

 

LandMar is the second developer to take a shot at The Shipyards, located along the St. Johns River between

BerkmanPlaza and MetropolitanPark. Plans envisioned a luxury condominium tower along with a mix of commercial, hotel and office space. None of that has occurred.

 

In a 2005 agreement, Jacksonville-based LandMar took ownership of the property and agreed to spend tens of millions of dollars on public improvements such as bulkheads, extending the riverwalk,

Bay Street streetscaping, a riverfront pier and pocket parks. LandMar also agreed to take over debt obligations of the previous owner, TriLegacy Group, for bonds City Hall issued in the prior attempt to redevelop the property.

 

Barton said LandMar has been a good partner fulfilling its end of the deal, but it appears the recession and real estate meltdown are taking a financial toll. He said he would be open to discussing different terms for the deal, such as possibly giving more time to complete the rest of the public improvements.

 

We need to hear from them about what works for them, he said. They've met all their obligations to date. They've spent just short of $20 million on improvements the public will benefit from.

 

LandMar did not return a phone call for comment. LandMar is allied with Crescent Resources in the development, which is being done under the name North Bank Developers LLC.

 

In a default, the city could regain ownership of the land, along with nearly $20 million in improvements paid for so far by LandMar. But that outcome would leave the city with no one to pay back the bonds originally issued for the project when TriLegacy was the developer. So far, LandMar has made about $12 million in debt payments.

 

The next payment will be due around June. Future annual payments of about $3.15 million per year will be due through 2032.

 

In addition to the delinquent property taxes, the construction lien put LandMar in default on the agreement with the city, Barton wrote in a letter last week to City Council members.

 

Misener Marine obtained the claim in February and said North Bank Developers owes about $993,000 from an $18.5 million contract for construction at The Shipyards. Barton said the lien is the kind of payment dispute that is not uncommon in the construction industry.

 

Source: Individual.com